Pushing open the door, Shinji walked into the office.
Just as he had expected, the person inside wasn't anyone else—it was Utatane Koharu, one of Konoha's three Advisor Elders.
Shinji didn't hide the confusion on his face. "What do you want with me?"
As she studied Shinji, Utatane Koharu asked, "You know all those rumors about you at the Ninja Academy, don't you?"
Shinji seemed to have accepted that trouble was inevitable. "Which rumor are you talking about?"
Utatane Koharu frowned slightly.
Though she seemed a little displeased, she was relieved inside. Shinji's attitude was exactly what she expected from an Uchiha.
Settling onto the sofa, Utatane Koharu leisurely raised her teacup. "Aren't you curious why none of the Jonin in the village have taken an interest in you or offered to train you?"
"Why?"
"Some of the rumors about you are true, and some are false. But one of them is true: there are people in the village who don't want to see you trained by a Jonin."
"Who?"
Utatane Koharu smiled. "You don't need to know who. Even if you did, what could you do about it on your own?"
Shinji replied flatly, "You didn't ask me here just to tell me that, did you?"
"Of course not!" Utatane Koharu paused, then continued, "Your clan may have been wiped out, but with those Mangekyo Uchiha active in the Akatsuki Organization, there are still many people in the village who fear your clan—or even hate it."
The Uchiha active in the Akatsuki Organization are my people.
Shinji kept the thought to himself and said nothing.
Utatane Koharu continued, "I'm the only person in the village with the ability and willingness to accept you. So I'm your last chance!"
"I don't quite understand."
Shinji answered her perfunctorily, but he was